Horizontal blower type refrigerated cabinet



Aug- 14, 1956 R. E. wALLENBRocK 2,758,449

HORIZONTAL BLOWER TYPE REFRIGERATED CABINET Filed Feb. 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E Je . .Jzn fm R/U ,5,1 Wallen/rat Aug. 14, 1956 R. E. WALLENBROCK 2,758,449

HORIZONTAL BLOWER TYPE RETRTOERATEO CABINET Filed Feb. 18, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 HORIZONTAL rownn TYPE REFRIGERATED CABINET Ralph E. Wauenbmck, Evansville, rnd., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application February 18, 1955, Serial No. 489,035

6 Claims. (Cl. '6l-102) The invention relates generally to refrigerated cabinets but more particularly it is concerned with thetop-opening, plural-temperature typev wherein mechanical means are employed to effectuate the circulationof an air cooling medium throughout the cabinet.

' The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a top-opening refrigerated cabinet having a plurality of food storage compartments therewithin, and means for circulating a cooling medium into heat exchange relation with a refrigerant evaporator cooling element and with the interiors of said compartment. s

Another object is to provide an improved refrigerated cabinet having food storage compartments positioned in side-by-side relationship with a refrigerant evaporator cooling element disposed therebetween.

A further object is to provide a top-opening type refrigerated cabinet having a food storage area therewithin ond compartment from which it is subsequently directed,

by way of air moving means and duct means positioned in a wall forming means of said cabinet, back into said first compartment.

A `yet still further object is to provide a top-opening type refrigerated cabinet havingside-by-side food storage areas with a refrigerant evaporative cooling element positioned therebetween, and further having air communicating and air moving means disposed in a top or closure membery of said cabinet whereby a continuous cycle of air circulation is eifected between said areas upon operation of said air moving means.

Another important object is to provide a top-opening blower-type refrigerated cabinet having an improved defrosting condensate disposal arrangement therewithin.

Another object is to provide a plural compartmented refrigerated cabinet having perforate panel means cooperatively arranged with a wall member for said cabinet to provide an air passageway that communicates-with each of said plural compartments.

The foregoing and other objects and featuresof the invention will become apparent as the disclosure is more fully made in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 1-1 of Figure 2 and showing the general arrangement of the' proposed refrigerated cabinet; n

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrange-H 2,758,449 Patented Aug. 14, 195,6

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ment of the refrigeration apparatus and the electrical control circuits associated therewith, and v Y Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view, in enlarged dimensions, showing one end portion of the proposed ren frigerated cabinet.

'Referring now to the drawings it will be noted .that the preferred embodiment selected for illustrating kthe present invention generally resembles in appearance the conventional top-opening or horizontal type of refrigerated cabinet usually referred to as a freezer-chest. A cabinet of this character, indicated generally by the ,reference numeral 10, may include a vertically positioned outer liner or wall member 11 which `extends around both ends and thefront and back sides thereof, and a similarly positioned inner liner or wall member 1 2 spaced therefrom by any suitable and well known heat insulating material 13, a bottom or oor member 14 with suitable supports '15, and a top cover or closure lid indicated generally by the numeral 16. y

The marginal edges of said louter and inner 'liners may be overturned inwardly toward each other and bridged with a conventionallow-heat conducting 'breaker strip member 11a as is well understood in the refrigeration art. Said-.cover or lid 16 may include an outer liner or wall member 17 generally of metallic material and an inner pan or liner of suitable non-metallic material 18 spaced therefrom by any well known or conventional heat insulating material as shown at`13. The marginal edge of the outer liner or pan 17 may be inwardly turned to provide a supporting or attaching llangev17a which voverlies the proximate marginal edge of the inner pan 18. The marginal edge of the pan 1S and the ila'nge 17a may be ymaintained in spaced relation by means' of a peripherally extending gasket seal member 19 and fixedly secured together by suitable securing means such l as the screws 20. The gasket seal 19 may be any'of ship. The oor member 14 together with the .bottomthe suitable and well known low-heat conducting and resilient plastic or rubber compositions. The Vinyl plstics have been found to be quite satisfactory and are commonlyk used for such purposes. A handle 21 provides means for operating the door 16 which, in tu'rn may be pivotally aixed to the cabinet by suitable means such as the hinges shown at 22.

The refrigerating apparatus generally includes a conventional refrigerant motor-compressor unit 23 connected by a fluid discharge conduit 2.4 to a condenser coil 25 which is connected by a capillary tube 26 to a finnedtype evaporator cooling element 27, while the opposite. side or outlet of said evaporator'is connected by a suction conduit 28 back to said motor-compressor. The condenser coil 25, preferably, is wrapped around and xedly positioned by conventional means in good ,thermal contact with the inside surface of the outer liner 11 in accordance with the customary practice in many modern. cabinets of this character. An electrical switch 29, operated by a thermostatically controlled bellows device 30 which, in turn, receives its motivating action from a feeler bulb 3-1, functions according to well known practices to cyclevthe refrigerating apparatus so as to mjeet the varying demands or refrigeration requirementsof the food storage' compartments, and the motor-com'- pressor 23 is connected by electrical conductors `3:2',` 32a to a suitable source of electric power supply as indicated; It will be understood, of course, that 'the refrigerati-ng apparatus will be charged with a `suitable refrigerantito render the apparatus operative.

The inner liner 12 of said ycabinet defines an enclositre-l likeI area that may be fashioned toy provide a large. food storage area or compartment 33 and a smaller. ,fast-.freezel area or compartment 34 disposed in side-by-side relationor oor portion of the inner liner 12 are bumped-up or vide a stepped or raised portion which in cooperationV with one end wall and the front and back walls of the lcabinet serves to deiine and delimit the smaller fastfreeze area or compartment 34. l

Now in accordance with the more specific teachings of the instant invention the evaporator cooling element 27 is positioned so as to provide a perfor-ate wallalike member or partition disposed between the adjoining compartments 33 and 34, while the floor or bottom of the stepped or raised portion 35 preferably is depressed, as indicated at 36, to provide a sump-like moisture collecting basin or drain connected to an outlet or drain pipe 37 that empties into a shallow pan-like container 3S supportably positioned in intimate heat exchange relation with the motor compressor unit 23. The evaporator 27, preferably, is dimensioned so as to extend from wall-towall between the front and back walls and to substantially ll the entire common wall space between adjoining compartments 33 and 34, thus assuring that all the air moving in one direction between these compartments will pass through and into intimate heat exchange relation with said evaporator.

The inner pan 18 of the top wall or lid 16 is provided with a depressed or inwardly offset dished area, as indicated at 39, to facilitate the formation of an air passageway or duct-like tine extending between the adjacent compartments 33 and 34. A panel-like secondary pan or inwardly disposed supplementary member 40 is formed to mate in complementary fashion with the pan or inner liner 1S and thereby provide a passageway or air duct 41 between said compartments. A plurality of spaced openings 43 in the secondary panel or liner 4i) provide outlets for the discharge or release of air from the flue or duct 41 into the larger storage compartment 33, while a large opening 44 in said secondary panel in the vicinity of the smaller compartment 34 provides for admission of air from said latter compartment into the said duct. An electric motor 45 may be mounted, by suitable means such as the support brackets 46, on the inner panel member 18 and be disposed so as to extend into a recess 47 formed. in the insulation 13 of the cover 16, and the recess so formed, preferably, is lined with a wall or casing-like member 4S that is also suitably fastened to said inner panel. A blower wheel 49 mounted on the shaft of said motor is disposed so that the axial inlet thereof is in registering alignment with the opening 44 in the panel member 40.

The air passageway or duct-line 41 may be formed or fabricated in any one of a number of different ways. As illustrated, however, it results from the use of two postformed plastic panels 18 and 40 which are shaped as indicated and then superimposed one on the other in complementary mating fashion to provide the spacing or hollow channel desired therebetween. The respective edges of these two panels are secured together by any means suitable to the particular materials employed in` the panels. It has been found that the polystyrene plas tics are very satisfactory for panels of this character and the edges thereof may readily be joined by the application of limited heat and pressure, Since the specific method of forming the particular elements of the air passageway and blower housing do not constitute the inventive concepts of the present invention it is felt further descriptive details thereof are unnecessary and hence it would serve nouseful purpose to further elaborate thereon in this specification.

The iinned evaporator 27 may have positioned on the upper surface or the upper edges of the fins thereof a plate-like member 50 which receives and supports a gasket seal member 51 of any suitable and well known plastic or rubber material. The panel member 40 of the lid 16 vin its closed position engages this gasket seal and thus seals o the upper edges of the evaporator `against 4 the uncontrolled passage of air between the compartments 33 and 34.

If desired, an interior illuminating lighting device 52 may be affixed to the auxiliary pan member 40, while a plunger-type switch 53 disposed in the rear wall of the cabinet and actuated by the cover 16 may be employed to turn the light on and off as said cover is opened and closed.

The switch 53, preferably, is of the single-pole doublethrow type having an arm 54 that is biased to the upper position by a spring 54a yand is actuated by a plunger 54b. This switch is arranged so that when the cover 16 is in a closed position the switch arm 54 engages the contact 55 and completes the electrical circuit through conductors 56, 57 and S8 to the blower wheel motor 45. When the cover is opened the arm 54 disengages contact 55 and opens the blower motor circuit and then subsequently engages the contact 59 and closes the circuit to the light 52 through conductors 56, 60 and 61.

In operation the refrigerating apparatus functions in conventional fashion and heat picked up by the evaporator 27 is dissipated to the atmosphere by way of the condenser coil 25 and the exterior wall or outer liner member 11. The thermostatically controlled switch 29 operates, according to the refrigeration demands of the food storage compartment 33, to cycle the refrigeration apparatus and thus fulll these requirements. The feeler bulb 31 may be positioned, as is well understood, in any particular location whose temperature it is desired be used for controlling the operation of the refrigeration apparatus. In this application it is preferred that such con trol be positioned proximate the evaporator 7.7 and in the food storage compartment 33, although such preference should not be considered as limiting the instant invention.

The compartment 34 is regarded as the fast freeze area because the air that is pulled through the evaporator by the blower wheel 49 irst encounters the food items stored therein and thus they receive the full cooling effect of the air at its lowest temperature. From this compartment the cooled air flows through the blower wheel 49 and through the passageway or air duct line 41 and is distributed by way of the openings 43 in said ue or duct line to the interior of compartment 33. Since the ternperature of this air has already been raised by the food items in compartment 34 it will be appreciated that the ultimate temperature obtainable in compartment 33 will be somewhat higher than that of compartment 34.

When `the evaporator 27 is defrosted by conventional means (not shown) the accumulated frost will melt off and drain by way of the sump 36 and pipe 37 into the pan 38 `where the heat of the motor-compressor unit 7.3 will cause its evaporation into the atmosphere.

The electrical switch 53 is arranged, preferably, so that the thermostatically controlled switch 29 may control both the motor-compressor 23 and the fan motor 45 while the lid or cover 16 is closed, but upon opening of the cover the fan motor 45 is stopped although the refrigeration apparatus will be allowed to continuo if the demands for refrigeration require such operation. It is not desirable, of course, to have the fan motor 45 operate while the lid or cover of the cabinet is open and the arrangement outlined assures that this fan will cease operation when the lid is opened.

From the foregoing it should now be apparent that a novel blower-type horizontal refrigerated cabinet has been shown and described, and it is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction without departing from the vspirit of the invention or the scopo thereof as deiined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refrigerated cabinet having a top-opening food storage area therewithin covered by a pivotally mounted closure member, the combination, comprising: refrigeration apparatus including `an evaporator cooling element operative for cooling the food storage area; said evaporator cooling element being verically disposed so as to `divide the food storage area into twol horizontally positioned adjacent compartments; air duct means formed in the closure member and communicating with each of said compartments; air moving means mounted in the closure member and operative for circulating air between said compartments and into heat exchange relation with said evaporator.r

2. In a refrigerated cabinet having a top-opening food storage area therewithin covered by a hingedly mounted closure member, the combination, comprising: refrigeration apparatus including an evaporator cooling element operative for cooling the food storage area; said evaporator cooling element being disposed so as to divide the food storage area into a large first compartment and a small second compartment horizontally adjacent thereto; air duct means formed in the closure member and communicating with each of said compartments; aircirculating means disposed in the closure member adjoining one of said compartments; said air circulating means being operative for moving air between compartments in one direction by directing said air through said duct means and for moving said air between said compartments in the opposite direction by directing said air through and into heat exchange relation with said evaporator cooling element.

3. In a refrigerated cabinet having a top-opening food storage area therewithin covered by aA pivotally mounted closure member, the combination, comprising; refrigeration apparatus including an evaporator cooling element operative for cooling the food storage area; said evaporator cooling element being disposed so as to divide the food storage area into a large rst compartment and a small second compartment horizontally adjacent thereto; air duct means formed in the closure member and communicating with each of said compartments; and air moving means mounted in the closure member adjoining the second of said compartments and operative for circulating air between said compartments and into heat exchange relation with said evaporator.

4. In a refrigerated cabinet having a top-opening food storage area therewithin covered by a pivotally mounted closure member, the combination, comprising: refrigeration apparatus including an evaporator cooling element operative for cooling the food storage area; said evapor ator cooling element being disposed so as to divide the food storage area into a large first compartment and a small second compartment horizontally adjacent thereto; a longitudinally extending air duct formed in the closure member and having openings therein for communicating with each of said compartments; and air moving means mounted in one end of said air duct and operative for circulating air between said compartments and into heat exchange relation with said evaporator.

l 5. In a refrigerated cabinet having a top-opening food storage area therewithin covered by a pivotally mounted closure member, the combination, comprising: refrigeration apparatus including an evaporator cooling element operative for cooling the food storage area; said evaporator cooling element being disposed so as to divide the food storage area into a large irst compartment and a small second compartment horizontally adjacent thereto; a longitudinally extending air duct formed in the closure member and opening into each of said two compartments; means for circulating air tirst into heat exchange relation with said evaporator thence into the said second compartment and thereafter into said rst compartment; said air circulating means being mounted in the closure member and being cooperative with said air duct'for circulating air between said compartments.

6. A refrigerated cabinet, comprising: insulated vertical walls and a bottom wall fashioned to define a food storage area having a top access opening; a closure member pivotally mounted to cover said access opening; said bottom wall having a portion at one end thereof upwardly olfset so as to divide said enclosed area into a large compartment and an adjoining smaller compartment having the bottom wall thereof in a plane spaced upwardly from that of the larger compartment; refrigeration apparatus including an evaporator cooling element mounted within the cabinet and operative for cooling the interior of said compartments; said evaporator cooling element being disposed to provide a perforate partition between said compartments; air duct means formed in said closure member and arranged to communicate with each of said compartments; and air moving means mounted in said closure member and operative for circulating air between said compartments and into heat ex change relation with said evaporator cooling element.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,188,839 Markley et al. Jan. 30, 1940 2,322,882 Raskin June 29, 1943 2,439,261 Munshower Apr. 6, 1948 2,442,882 Tull et al. .lune 8, 1948 

